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When she returned, she gave Echo a good rubdown and then went inside the house and showered and dressed before blowing her hair dry.

She hadn’t bothered packing makeup in her rush to get to the hospital, but she did pull out a tube of lipstick from her purse and use it to give herself a little color.

Then she tackled all the messages that had stacked up.

Although she didn’t read the content of all the emails and texts she’d received, she did hit reply and copied and pasted the same message, saying she was doing her best to look toward her future and would be in touch when she could.

She deleted all voice messages without listening to them, only listening to the ones Darby had left. Her best friend had simply given a few words of encouragement and told Kelby to call whenever she had licked her wounds and was ready to talk.

“No time like the present,” she told herself, calling Darby.

Her friend answered on the second ring. “How are you? Tell me whatever you want. I’m here to listen.”

“Are you busy?”

“Not when you call,” Darby said, laughing. “Actually, I’m closing the door to my office. No one will bother us because I’ve done that. I’ll be quiet now. Spill your guts, Kel.”

She did, talking for almost an hour. Kelby shared how she’d learned about Bax.

The horror of reading about what he was arrested for, as well as the sick feeling when pictures of the two of them began popping up online, accompanying the stories about his arrest. Then she explained how Wyndham & Warren had wanted to cut her loose, fearing she would spot their reputation.

“What did you do?” Darby demanded. “I hope you stood up to them. They can’t fire you. That’s against the law.”

“Long story. Short version is that they did let me go, but I received a nice severance package to walk without a fuss. Sawyer helped me. He read through everything and advised me on what we should ask for in return.”

“ My Sawyer? He never said a word to me. Some brother!”

Kelby laughed. “I guess as a client, he gave me full privileges and didn’t spill a word to his sister.”

“I’m glad he was able to help you wade through everything. Did you know he’s walked away from his job as an ADA to move back to Hawthorne?”

“Yes, he mentioned it to me.”

“Well, I hope he knows what he’s doing. He is taking over Isaiah Smith’s practice, so he won’t have to start from scratch, thank goodness.”

“I probably owe him a dinner,” she said, pausing a beat. “I’m in Hawthorne. There’s more I need to tell you.”

The next few minutes, Kelby shared everything about her dad’s stroke. How she’d been at the hospital night and day, meeting with doctors, and watching his rehab.

“Oh, Kel, I’m so sorry. You should have reached out sooner. I would’ve come. I can still come.”

“No, don’t do that. No need to now. Dad was transferred yesterday to a rehab facility.

He’ll be there several weeks. Maybe even longer.

They don’t want me hanging over their shoulders or his, so he’ll do all his PT and OT sessions under their watchful eye and not mine.

Chance and I can visit a couple of times a day, though, so I’ll be doing that. At least for the foreseeable future.”

“What about work?” Darby pressed. “I can’t see you hanging around the ranch for weeks with nothing to do.”

“Frankly, I’m not certain who’s going to hire me after being associated with this Bax scandal. It doesn’t seem to matter that we’ve been divorced for five years.”

“Oh,” Darby said quietly. “I guess you’ve been so busy with your dad that you haven’t kept up with the news.”

Her heartbeat quickened. “What’s happened? I haven’t looked at anything online. I’ve been wrapped up in caring for Dad.”

“It’s bad,” her friend said. “Bax is dead.”

Nausea swept through her. “Did he commit suicide?” she asked, thinking how much her former husband hated being told what to do.

Jail would be nothing but people in authority ordering him about.

Plus, he would have had a hard time without access to alcohol and drugs.

Quitting both cold turkey while in lockup would have been a nightmare.

“No. He ... was stabbed yesterday. By another prisoner.”

Kelby gripped the phone tightly. “Stabbed?” she echoed.

“Don’t read anything about it,” her friend cautioned. “The authorities aren’t even sure if it was one inmate or more than one.”

Tears welled in her eyes and began spilling down her cheeks. “I can’t imagine dying in such an awful way.”

“I know.”

They sat on the line together, neither saying anything. Kelby could hear Darby’s quiet breathing.

After a few minutes, she said, “Thanks for just being with me in this moment.”

“You’re my best friend,” Darby said simply. “I’ll always be here for you.”

“I think I’ll go now.”

“Call me if you need anything. To talk. Or to tell me to come to Hawthorne. I’ve got some vacation time coming that I could use.”

“I promise I’ll stay in better touch. Don’t come home now. But I may ask you to soon.”

“I love you, Kel.”

“I love you, too.”

Kelby ended the call and sat, her mind a blank. Finally, she called up a few news stories about Bax’s death, despite Darby’s warning not to do so. After reading a few, she set her phone down.

Bax was dead. News of his death would linger for several news cycles, but she couldn’t help but think that just maybe, she was finally free.

Chance wouldn’t know about this since he never paid attention to the news. Most likely, Tammy wouldn’t know about it either. She decided to go for a drive, needing some time alone.

After she had driven around for an hour, she returned to Hawthorne, feeling more grounded. As she approached the town square, she decided to rely on her comfort food.

Ice cream.

Her dad had always said everything bad could be cured with a bowl of ice cream.

She smiled, thinking how many times he had brought Chance and her to Burger Heaven.

It was located on the Hawthorne town square and only served burgers, crinkle fries, and ice cream.

She decided to stop in and have a treat.

It had been a rough two weeks, and Kelby couldn’t think of anything she wanted more now.

She parked and entered. It was just after four, and she was the only customer. Miss Caroline, the owner, who had to be at least seventy-five now, beamed at her.

“Kelby Blackstone! It’s so good to see you, honey.” Miss Caroline came from behind the counter and hugged her. “I’m so sorry about your daddy. I heard he got moved to rehab.”

For a moment, she wondered how Miss Caroline knew that, but Hawthorne was a small town. Everyone knew everyone else’s business, both the good and the bad.

“He did. Yesterday,” she confirmed. “But we’re seeing improvement each day.”

Miss Caroline took Kelby’s hands in hers. “I would say I’m sorry about that no-good ex of yours, except I’d be lying. You were smart to leave him years ago, honey. I know some of what’s happened recently has washed back on you, but don’t let it get you down.”

“I won’t,” she promised, her eyes misting over. She had missed being in a place where everyone knew who she was and rooted for her.

“I’ll bet you came in for some ice cream. Big Jim always did bring you and Chance here when you were troubled. What can I get you, dear?”

She wandered over to where large tubs of ice cream sat behind glass. Butter pecan. Rocky road. Strawberry cheesecake. And then the top trio of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.

“I think I’ll splurge,” she told the owner. “I’ll go with a banana split.”

Before she could ask for them, Miss Caroline said, “Extra nuts, right?”

Kelby nodded. “You remembered.”

“I may be eighty, but I remember more than most people have forgotten.” Miss Caroline cackled. “One banana split coming right up. Go have a seat.”

She went to a booth and sat so that she could look out on the square. Not much activity was taking place at the moment. She stared lazily at the view.

Then she saw a fancy sports car pull up. A Jaguar, if she wasn’t mistaken. The driver got out and strode toward Burger Heaven. Kelby’s heart began to race.

Because it was West Sutherland.